I'll be back, eventually...

Program cover: Kabardinka State Folk Dance Ensemble

Here's the colorful cover of a program for the Kabardinka State Folk Dance Ensemble of the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR.

Let's start with the second part of that. The Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (that's a mouthful) was an autonomous republic within Soviet Russia from 1936 to 1991. It is a region of just 4,800 square miles in the North Caucasus mountains.

Today, it is the Kabardino-Balkar Republic and is a federal subject of Russia. Its capital is Nalchik (seen at right), which in 1974 was the birthplace of pop singer Katya Lel, who is perhaps best known for the hit song "Moy Marmeladny."

This program cover, which features the logo and name of the Russian travel agency Intourist, measures 7¾ inches wide by 8¾ inches tall. Here is the full English text from the two inside pages. For some of the dances, there are links to YouTube videos.

Kabardinka State Folk Dance Ensemble
of the Kabardino-Balkarian ASSR
CONCERT PROGRAMME
Part 1

• ISLAMEI, GROUP DANCE, Ensemble
• DANCE OF TWO FRIENDS, A. Khahukoyev and Kh. Shomakhov
• KAFA, FOLK DANCE, Ensemble. Soloes [sic] by V. Misakova, T. Tokova, K. Sottayev, People's Artist of the KBASSR and F. Keshev
• DAGGER DANCE, V. Shogenov [link to picture]
• GOLLUH, FOLK DANCE, Men's dancing group, solo by K. Sottayev
• GIRLS' DANCE, Women's dancing group
• FOLK DANCE, Dancing group
• MOUNTAINEERS' DANCE, Men's dancing group
• BRIDEGROOMS, MOCK DANCE, A. Shabaev, Merited Artist of the KBASSR, and F. Keshev
• ABZEKH, FOLK DANCE, Ensemble. Solo by M. Alakayev, Merited Artist of the RSFSR

Part 2

• UDZH-KHESHT, FOLK DANCE, Ensemble
• A DATE, DANCE SCENE, Dancing group
• ISLAMEI DANCE FOR COUPLES, Z. Dzakhmysheva, Merited Artist of the KBASSR, V. Misakova, K. Dzakhmyshev, Merited Artist of the KBASSR, and E. Maryshev
• GAN-DA-GAN, ADJARIAN DANCE, Ensemble
• KARTULI, GEORGIAN DANCE, L. Karezheva, Merited Artist of the KBASSR, Zh. Aloyeva, F. Keshev and E. Maryshev
• ON THE MOUNTAIN PASTURE, Men's dancing group
• AKUSHI FOLK DANCE, Women's dancing group
• AT THE SPRING, CHOREOGRAPHIC SCENE, Ensemble
• FISHING, DANCE SCENE, A. Shabaev and F. Keshev
• KABARDINKA, FOLK DANCE, Ensemble

You can also check out this Facebook video, which features the actual Kabardian State Folk Dance Ensemble. If your interest is piqued by this topic, you can learn more at the Circassian music Wikipedia entry.

"I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket..."

I discovered this circular piece of Beatles ephemera/memorabilia among Mom's stuff. She was 16 when The Beatles landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport¹ in February 1964, on their way to The Ed Sullivan Show. Thus, she was the perfect age to be a passionate teenage fan of the lads from Liverpool and grow up with them, through their many phases.

George Harrison was her favorite Beatle.

The Beatles ephemera has a diameter of 3¾ inches and is printed on paper stock similar to that of a postcard. There are other references to this particular item existing in the form of a button/pin. Perhaps this one was originally part of a button, too.

The "I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket Have You?" phrasing recalls the idiomatic — and, in the eyes of some, grammatically questionable — "You've Got A Friend In Pennsylvania" state advertising slogan and license plate of the 1980s.²

The "Beatles Movie" referred to is 1964's A Hard Day's Night, a musical-comedy that ended up as a critical success despite the fact that its overwhelming purpose was simply to serve as a vehicle for Beatles songs. In the 2012 book Beatlemania: Technology, Business, and Teen Culture in Cold War America, André Millard writes:

"Cinemas and radio stations began promotional campaigns that made buying a ticket for the Beatles' film an event, and the lucky fans who had camped out all night got special badges that said 'I've Got My Beatles Movie Ticket, Have You?' A Hard Day's Night was an exceptional film in many ways, but it worked best as a substitute for the live performances and sense of intimacy that was central to Beatlemania. The film opened simultaneously in over five hundred American cinemas in the summer of 1964 — perfectly placed between two American tours."

So, Mom apparently acquired the circular badge that summer and tucked it away, among her cherished possessions, for 53 years.

Related Beatles note #1

In the realm of ephemera that is much more rare, Atlas Obscura's Sarah Laskow reported today on a little sketch that John Lennon left behind after moving in the 1960s. Look familiar? Can you even imagine coming across that in your house?

Related Beatles note #2

The Lancaster Barnstormers, one of our local Atlantic League baseball teams, are hosting their home opener at Clipper Magazine Stadium tomorrow night. They're having a Beatles-themed opener, which will include an appearance by Ringo impersonator "Ringer Star" and these nifty tie-dye T-shirts for fans...

Footnotes
1. John F. Kennedy International Airport was originally Idlewild Airport, before being renamed for the late president.
2. Grammar Girl says "have got" is perfectly acceptable English.

Old, definitely 100% authentic photograph of Dracula

Who says you can't take a picture of a real vampire?

Fairy-tale postcards via Postcrossing

One little thing that's been comforting during the chaos and sadness of the past two months is that I've still been receiving a steady flow of postcards from international Postcrossers in my mailbox each week. They always bring a smile to my face after a long day. Here are two fairy-tale themed postcards I received recently...

Pictured above is an Anne Anderson illustration from the tale "The Miller's Daughter." It was done for a 1922 edition of Grimms' Fairy Tales. You can see a better image of this illustration on Wikipedia.

This postcard was sent by Angelika, who is retired and lives in scenic Blankenburg, Germany.

This postcard features the vintage cover of the Ladybird Books edition of Red Riding Hood Also Goldilocks and the Three Bears. On the back, Hélène writes:

"Hello Chris,
Greetings from the city of Moose Jaw in the province of Saskatchewan in the central Canadian prairies. I am a clinical herbalist and a retired teacher-librarian. These little Ladybird books were very popular 50 years ago and children loved them. Now, illustrations in children's books have changed a lot."

Cool illustrations: The New Human Interest Library (Part 19)

On the heels of yesterday's post, here are some more photographs of children's games from 1929's The New Human Interest Library.

Regarding this "wooden spoons" game, the text states:

"A very good game for a large or small party is that of 'guessing with the wooden spoons.' One of the party — a girl, for instance — is blindfolded, and sits upon a chair. She is then given two large wooden spoons, such as are in common use in every kitchen. One after another, the other boys and girls come up to the blindfolded sitter and stand or kneel before her, and she has to guess who each one is by simply feeling him or her with the wooden spoons. ... The task is very much more difficult than it looks, and there is great fun as the spoons go over the face and body in the attempt of the blindfolded player to discover the identity of the other. ... Of course, any outburst of laughter when the spoons are going over our face would disclose our identity, so we must keep perfect silence. ... We must be careful when using the spoons to touch another player with them quite lightly, so as not to hurt him; and any player who wears glasses should remove them before going to be felt with the spoons."

Also, take care in which kitchen implements you use for this game. You definitely want wooden spoons, and not ice picks or knives.

And now for something completely different...

Did you now you could have this much fun with eggs?!?

The text states that the game requires "an ordinary hens' egg — not too large — which has been prepared beforehand by being blown — that is, having the contents removed without cracking the shell."

The egg race is pitched as a battle of the sexes: "Nothing must be used by the girl but the paper fan or her hand; and the boy, on his part, must simply blow with this mouth."

Cool illustrations: The New Human Interest Library (Part 18)

I was wrong, way back in February, when I stated that we were at the end of the "The Do-It-Yourself Book" portion of 1929's The New Human Interest Library, our ongoing series that understandably ended up on the back-burner in late winter/early spring.

There is simply more cool stuff (to me) in "The Do-It-Yourself Book," so more posts it is!

On Page 137, a subsection deals with "Amusing Games for Halloween," and there are several pictures. The text states:

"Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, is a festival that has long been observed, particularly in Scotland, and although many of the customs associated with the season are superstitious, yet there are also some interesting games which boys and girls have played for generations on Halloween, or the last night in October."

These first three photos and captions show some of the apple-based games that are illustrated on this page of the book...

And this is the caption that accompanies the following three photos: "These pictures show a boy and girl playing the Halloween game of dropping a fork to pick up an apple."

The text adds:

"Sometimes the fork is held by the handle in the mouth, and allowed to drop from there into the tub. This makes it harder to spike the apples. We must, of course, be careful not to overbalance the chair. Instead of the tub being nearly full of water and having apples floating in it, it is sometimes left dry, and in it are placed an apple, a potato, a carrot, and a turnip. ... The apple is the most sought after, and the turnip is regarded as the least desirable."

Come back to see more games from this section tomorrow!

Happy Easter! ... Wait. What?

This vintage photo comes from the absolutely wonderful @HorribleSanity Twitter feed.